This appeal considers whether the plaintiff can maintain a cause of action against defendant Netherlands Reformed Church (church) for injuries resulting from a fall on the sidewalk abutting the church's property.

On October 27, 1997, plaintiff fell while walking along the uneven public sidewalk bordering the church's property located at Third Street in Clifton. The uneven condition of the sidewalk resulted from its upheaval caused by the roots of a tree located between the curb and the sidewalk.

Through discovery it was disclosed that the church was a non-profit corporation created solely for religious and charitable purposes, and that it did not rent its real property or use that property for any commercial purposes. The parties also discovered that the church constructed the sidewalk forty years before plaintiff's fall and that it had a portion of the sidewalk repaired eight or ten years before plaintiff's fall. Plaintiff's consulting engineer explained that movement of pavement slabs is a common occurrence that can be caused by tree roots growing under the sidewalk.

The trial court granted the church's motion for summary judgment, finding that a landowner using his property exclusively for charitable or religious purposes is not liable for injuries sustained by a pedestrian on the abutting sidewalk unless the property is used for commercial activities.

The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment, holding that the church, as a noncommercial landowner, did not owe plaintiff a duty to maintain the sidewalk.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Per Curiam

(NOTE: This Court wrote no full opinion in this case. Rather, the Court's affirmance of the judgment of the Appellate Division is based substantially on the reasons expressed in Judge Newman's opinion below.)

Argued January 21, 2003

The judgment is affirmed, substantially for the reasons expressed in Judge Newman's opinion of the Appellate Division, reported at 351 N.J. Super. 237 (2002).

Our website includes the main text of the court's opinion but does not include the
docket number, case citation or footnotes. Upon purchase, docket numbers and/or
citations allow you to research a case further or to use a case in a legal proceeding.
Footnotes (if any) include details of the court's decision.

Buy This Entire Record For
$7.95

Official citation and/or docket number and footnotes (if any) for this case available with purchase.